Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The horses' hooves pounded the ground like raindrops, and the cavalrymen who leaned out of their horses waved their swords and guns,
Among the 5,000 Khitan cavalry, Yelu Dashi slowed down his horse slightly, raised his head and looked around, and did not choose to lead his troops to attack the Song army in the south city from behind immediately.

The column of smoke rising from the west of the city reminded him that the situation over there was equally urgent. Then he looked at the smoke rising from the southeast side of the battlefield in the distance and the fluttering "Liao" flag. There was a moment of confusion in his eyes, and he gradually tightened the reins and slowed down.

"Lin Ya, why are you slowing down?"

The battlefield was noisy. A general came over and saw him staring into the distance. He looked over and was startled: "Where are the reinforcements coming from?"

"Reinforcements?"

"Are there any reinforcements now?"

Yelu Dashi heard exclamations from all around, his face changed, and he waved his hand to stop them. The generals around him shouted, "Stop the pursuit!"

The roar of horse hooves slowed down, and those who had been silent for a while all pulled up the reins in unison: "... No matter who they are, they are helping us fight the Song bandits. Let's not dwell on them now." He raised his voice: "The city will be fine for the time being. Leave a thousand people outside to patrol and tell the Song people in the city that their central army has been attacked to boost morale in the city!"

The warhorse Herodius shouted, turned around and marched westward: "Street fighting is not good for cavalry. Follow me to disperse the enemies in the west first. Ha--" He kicked the horse with his legs and ran madly.

"Follow Lin Ya! Go——"

"Aha--"

Roars burst out from the cavalrymen's mouths, and the gathered cavalrymen turned a corner and headed west along the south city.

The thousand cavalrymen who remained on horseback shouted loudly outside the city: "The Song army has been defeated! The Song army has been defeated——"

Yelu Zongdian, who was in a state of panic on the top of the city wall, looked into the distance hastily upon hearing this. He saw crimson figures collapsing on the west side of the city gate. He was also startled by the Song army's central army being attacked in the distance. Then he was overjoyed and ran to one side of the city wall, shouting to his comrades on the towers on both sides: "Reinforcements, reinforcements are coming. The Song army outside the city is beginning to collapse. Hold on!"

Xiao Bodie and Yelu Zongyun, who were resisting the infantry on the left and right sides, were stunned when they heard the words, and then they shouted. The morale of their soldiers suddenly boosted, and they swung their swords with twice the strength, forcing the Ever-Victorious Army and the Song Army infantry to retreat more than ten feet under the city wall.

"Damn it!" Zhen Wuchen was very anxious when he saw the army retreating after they were about to attack the city wall. When he heard the three generals shouting, his face became uncertain. He quickly pulled the guards beside him and said, "Take someone to find the commander-in-chief and tell him that there are reinforcements from Xijin Prefecture outside. The Song army may not be reliable. Quickly..."

The bodyguard responded, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, shouted, and ran back with a team of a hundred men.

Zhen Wuchen stood there in silence for a few more breaths, and then called the rest of his guards: "Go find Liu Shunren and tell him not to go in, or he'll be cut off."

Then he raised his voice and said, "Come here, send a battalion of soldiers to the city gate and hold the city gate for me.

Send the scouts to investigate the situation outside the city, and report any unusual movements to me."

Figures ran quickly under his command, and then the news that the army blocking the enemy outside the city was defeated without a fight began to spread among the Ever-Victorious Army.

……

The roar was deafening. Xiao Haili stretched his neck in the army to look into the distance. The guards Hu Yanzhuo and Xu Wen beside him kept looking up at the sky in front of them, fearing that stray arrows would be shot at them.

However, facts proved that both of them were overthinking. It was not enough to describe Dong Ping's charging forward with unstoppable force. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that he "went with the flow."

The two generals who were not well-educated looked at the flags in front of them and thought quietly. Xiao Haili did not notice the expressions of the two generals beside him. He raised his hand and called the messenger: "Blow the horn and tell Han Chang to lead his troops to encircle from one side and drive the Song army outside the city away from here."

The horn made sounds of varying lengths, and the large flag with the word "Han" in the distance began to deflect with the sounds.

Countless shouts broke out as the war horses advanced rapidly. The already chaotic center of the Song army suddenly became even more panicked. Some saw their comrades being killed on the spot by the knights on horseback. They knelt on the ground screaming and surrendered. They were trampled by the torrent of horses, and the sound of flesh and bones bursting was heard under the cover of the horses' hooves.

The cavalry wearing Liao soldiers' armor roared continuously. Some of the cavalry bravely formed small teams and slightly deviated from the defense line to chase the fleeing imperial guards, and then slashed and killed them indiscriminately with their swords on horseback.

"Don't kill, surrender, surrender!"

There were people who understood Khitan language shouting, but the shouting did not make the horses hesitate, and a large number of cavalrymen marched past this side.

"Their center has collapsed!"

The shouting sound made Xiao Haili's wandering gaze freeze. Then he stood up slightly on his horse and looked. He saw countless flags disappearing in his sight. A series of crimson figures were running behind him. The raised dust made him squint his eyes.

"Damn it, I haven't fought such an easy battle in my decades of life. They dispersed before the horses even arrived. This is really..." Xiao Haili couldn't help but say something, but he couldn't find an adjective for a long time and just kept shaking his head.

Xu Wen, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but stand up when he heard him talking. He smacked his lips as he looked at the scattered figures in the distance, then turned to look at Xiao Haili: "Xiong Bing?"

"Hmm... Hmm?" Xiao Haili turned his head to look at Xu Wen, and saw a teasing look in his eyes. Thinking about the two words he just said, he couldn't help but reach out and tap him with the knife. He rolled his eyes and said loudly: "How could I know that they are so lame? They are even more cowardly than when they were in Songdi."

Then he raised the copper knife: "But it's just right. Killing these people can also delay the time for the Song army to capture Xijin Prefecture."

After a pause, he raised his voice: "Disperse and chase, kill as many Song troops as possible, drive——"

Woo, woo——

A desolate horn sounded between heaven and earth, and the gathered cavalrymen immediately scattered, chasing after the fleeing imperial guards from behind. They bent down from their horses, chopped the men down with one knife, and chased after the next one amid splattering blood.

Corpses were lying everywhere as the war horses moved forward. The fleeing Song soldiers wished they had eight legs. None of them turned back to fight to the death, but just ran, occasionally reaching out to push or pull their comrades beside them, overtaking the enemy and running away.

……

same moment.

Iron hooves swept through the cold wind, and Yelu Dashi led thousands of cavalrymen to rush straight towards the troops and horses in the west of the city. The north wind was like a knife cutting on his face, and he raised his bow and arrows to shoot at the front.

"Liao cavalry!" Yang Keshi's face suddenly changed when he saw people rushing over. He then raised the broadsword in his hand and said, "Tell the Zhai brothers to be careful of the enemy's cavalry's sneak attack. Come, follow me to fight."

After saying this briefly, he raised his sword and rode his horse to lead the charge. Beside him were more than a thousand cavalrymen of the Western Army, who were originally used to support this detachment. When they saw their commander taking action, they immediately followed him. In a blink of an eye, the speed increased, and the galloping cavalrymen crouched behind the horses, pulling the reins, with the sword handles and gun barrels tightly grasped in their hands.

Boom—a loud noise was heard, and the Liao cavalry crashed into the defensive formation. The Song general who was facing the enemy from the side roared "Ah—" and swung his long sword to meet them.

boom--

There was a sound of metal exploding, sparks flew and disappeared in the cold wind, the iron spear stabbed through the gap, then pierced through the chest, and the whole person flew into the air.

Yelu Dashi felt somewhat unhappy that the Song army to the west of the city could actually respond hastily, which was completely different from the troops to the south of the city that were defeated before the battle even began.

The sound of horse hooves rolled over like thunder. Yelu Dashi swept down two people in succession with his iron spear. Looking at the Song cavalry coming, he snorted coldly, "Turn around and fight against the Song cavalry in turn. Go, go!"

A personal soldier took out a horn and blew it. Yang Keshi, who was approaching, saw the Liao cavalry that had broken into the flanks withdraw in several teams on the left and right. He was startled, and then shouted loudly: "Left general flag, kill--"

The war horses galloped forward, and the Liao soldiers who turned around saw that the distance was getting farther, so they took out their horse bows and shot arrows behind them. Many Song army infantrymen who were happy to escape the sword's edge fell to the ground, and screams rang out one after another.

"You bastard!" Yang Keshi was furious and kicked his mount hard a few times. The horse moved quickly, bypassing the infantry in front and chasing after Yelu Dashi.

The war horses moved away from the crowd. Amid the roar of horse hooves, Yelu Dashi turned his head to look, then looked down at the direction of the other cavalrymen and swung his spear to the side.

Immediately, the 700-odd riders following him passed the bend. Yang Keshi saw this, looked around, and immediately pulled the reins to signal them to slow down.

He had been in the army for a long time and was also a fierce general in the Western Army. He immediately realized that the Liao people in front of him were planning to expose his flank and use it as bait for the nearby cavalry to attack his flank.

Seeing that he was not fooled, Yelu Dashi was not upset. He waved his iron spear and said, "Move the troops. The distance between each army should not exceed one arrow's distance. Find a way to defeat these Song cavalry."

The Liao cavalry responded immediately upon hearing the horn, running around the Song army from front to back and left to right.

Yang Keshi led the cavalry to pursue Yelu Dashi, but seeing that the other cavalry were harassing the infantry from time to time, he was afraid that they would be defeated by the cavalry, so he went to intercept them.

However, his ability to command cavalry was ultimately inferior to Yelu Dashi's. After fighting for less than half an hour, Yelu Dashi found a flaw in the whirlwind cannon and commanded the cavalry to charge and kill the gunners. Even the whirlwind cannon standing on the ground was damaged by swords and axes.

"Quick, tell Zhai Jin that the whirlwind cannon has been destroyed, evacuate the city——"

Yang Keshi shouted to his left and right, who hurriedly ran over to inform the army attacking the city. However, when he turned around, his pupils suddenly shrank. A battalion of cavalry bypassed his sight and attacked from the side and rear, cutting the cavalry in two. Then Yelu Dashi, who was running in front, roared and led his troops to turn around and attack, and the two cavalry forces were entangled together.

The sounds of fighting and shouting suddenly broke out among the cavalry. Yang Keshi rushed left and right with a knife in hand, but saw the Liao army in front of him. The soldier beside him picked up the ox horn and prepared to blow it to call for help, but was shot by Yelu Dashi with an arrow.

The soldier holding the ox horn shook, his grip loosened, the horn fell to the ground, his body tilted and he fell off his horse. A feather arrow in his neck broke in two, and blood soaked into the soil.

In the huge chaos, the remaining infantrymen without a general in command were in confusion for a moment, and Zhai Jin, Zhai Xing and others who were fighting a bloody battle on the city wall suddenly felt the pressure.

The brothers Yelu Zonglei and Zonglin reacted quickly, holding their iron knives and shouting, "Push them down!"

They rushed forward together, and the sound of swords clashing rang out in the west of the city in an instant. Many soldiers of the imperial guards were hacked to death on the spot. Yelu Fuding felt the pressure relieved, and hurriedly ordered the defenders on the city to counterattack, gradually pushing the Song army to the foot of the city.

……

The sky began to darken as time passed.

Inside the city, the troops led by Pharmacist Guo were stopped in a street market. Black smoke rose from the houses and streets. Several houses were set on fire. The fire spread in all directions due to the wind. The Ever-Victorious Army and the defenders in the city could not bear it anymore and stopped their attacks, thinking of retreating to the rear.

Pharmacist Guo pulled his cloak to cover his mouth and nose, looking at the burning buildings around him helplessly. He didn't want to use such cruel means, but his own soldiers here were much fewer than those on the opposite side, and the Song army didn't know what was going on. After entering the city, they ignored him and wanted to kill through the other streets.

"Ahem... Let's go to the back and see what's going on. Urge the Song people to move forward quickly. We can't rely on me to fight in the front alone. While the fire is getting bigger, let's retreat and rest."

He said something, and the tall figure moved backwards: "Where's Zhao Heshou, Zhao Heshou!"

"General." A shout was heard, and Zhao Heshou appeared near him with a dark and gray face.

"You should lead the cavalry to retreat first, but don't leave the city. If anyone asks you, tell them that cavalry is not good at street fighting and that they should retreat."

Pharmacist Guo strode towards the rear. The general leading the cavalry responded, turned around and roared, "Go."

The war horses struck the fire, and 100 people were killed. The cavalry turned around, and Guo Yaoshi led more than 400 infantrymen behind. However, before they could get close to the city gate, more than 100 people ran over quickly: "General, you are here. Something bad has happened. There is news from outside the city that the Khitan cavalry killed the follow-up troops and horses, and now there are more than a thousand cavalry blocking the gate."

Pharmacist Guo paused in his tracks, and the sweat he had produced from the fight suddenly turned cold. A cold wind blew with the smell of fireworks, and he suddenly shuddered: "Quick, hurry back, this is going to be bad."

The reunited troops ran backwards quickly. They had been fighting for quite some time, from leaving the city to turning back and charging into the city. Although they were not physically or mentally exhausted at this moment, they looked tired.

When he arrived at the west of the city, before he could even stand still, he saw Zhen Wuchen running towards him quickly: "Commander-in-chief, there is a change outside the city. Yelu Dashi attacked the Song army's rear reinforcements, and the Song army was defeated without a fight. There were also cavalrymen from nowhere who attacked the Song army's center army. The center army and the rear army also dispersed without a fight. Now we are the only ones in the city with the other four groups of troops."

The sound of fighting and shouting came over, and Pharmacist Guo unconsciously clenched his fists: "Are there a lot of reinforcements coming from outside the city?"

"Not many. Judging from the flags and smoke, there are about 5,000 to 7,000 cavalry."

"Yelü Dashi also attacked the central army?" Pharmacist Guo's face turned pale.

"He went to the west of the city, leaving only a thousand cavalrymen patrolling outside." Zhen Wuchen answered, and then his face looked strange: "But no one from the Song army dared to come up, they all fled with the disintegration of the central army."

Pharmacist Guo's eyes widened, and he suddenly turned around to stare at the scarlet figure mixed in with the army. After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence: "Zhang Jue, how can you escape like this!"

"What should the commander-in-chief do?" Zhen Wuchen looked a little nervous.

"Where's Liu Shunren?" Pharmacist Guo took a deep breath and looked around: "Did he follow the Song people in to kill them?"

Zhen Wuchen nodded and said, "I have already sent someone to call them. They should be on their way back now."

Pharmacist Guo's face changed color, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "We can't wait. Tell Zhao Heshou to prepare to fight his way out of the city!" (End of this chapter)